Women In Combat: Some Lessons From Israel's Military

Soldiers of Israel's 33rd Caracal Battalion take part in a graduation march in the northern part of the southern Israeli Negev desert on March 13. The Caracal was formed in 2004 with the chief purpose of giving women a chance to serve in a true combat role.

Sgt. Leora Prince (left) said switching to the Caracal battalion and taking on a more hands-on combat position was the best decision she'd ever made. She is shown here with her commanding officer, Capt. Yaron Eyal, near Eilat, along Israel's border with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

But the experience in these countries, including Israel, suggests that access to combat jobs doesn't lead directly to equal treatment within the ranks.

In Israel, most men and women perform compulsory military service. The Israel Defense Forces plays a number of roles that go far beyond just defending the country. It is also a melting pot that allows immigrants and minority groups to join in the same rite of passage.

That's what struck Leora Prince when the New Jersey native visited Israel after high school. She saw lots of young people joined in a common purpose.

"That were completely, selflessly guarding over the country," Prince recalls. "And I wanted to be a part of that."

That explains why this 21-year-old is now serving as a sergeant in the Israel Defense Forces. She immigrated, learned Hebrew and put on a uniform.

But had she come along before the formation of the Caracal Battalion, Prince would not have ended up where she was earlier this year: riding in an SUV along Israel's desert border with Egypt, cradling a Tavor assault rifle in her arms.

Prince started out learning how to be an instructor. But she says she wanted to do something that was truly hands-on.

"When I was in basic training for the month, I realized that this isn't enough for me. I wanted to do more, do that guarding, not just teach people how to guard," Prince says. "So I switched to Caracal, and it was the best decision I've ever made."

The Caracal was formed in 2004 with the chief purpose of giving women a chance to serve in a true combat role. It's a coed combat battalion, named for a desert cat whose gender can be difficult to discern.

The battalion is 60 percent female and patrols Israel's border with Egypt's Sinai peninsula, a desolate stretch of high desert that has become a hot spot in recent years: In 2011, eight Israelis died in an attack launched from Sinai.

The area is dangerous enough that Israel has decided to build an expensive border fence through the harsh terrain. A big part of the Caracal's job is guarding the construction crews building that fence. Soldiers like Prince put up with clouds of dust, wicked heat and long shifts.

Prince says women don't have to carry quite as much gear as men. But otherwise they're treated the same — in theory, anyway. Prince says in Israel's battle-hardened, male-dominated military, she still gets plenty of razzing.

You don't sign up for work like this if you're put off by teasing. Within the Caracal, Prince says, she is taken seriously, and she looks completely at ease as she chats with her male counterparts.

"I really, really trust them ... to watch my back," he says, relying on Prince to help him find the right English expression.

Israel holds out the Caracal as proof that women can be all that they can be in the military. The Israel Defense Forces say that today, nearly 50 percent of Israel's lieutenants and captains are women.

But the upper echelons are still a male domain. The highest-ranking female officer is a major general, who is in charge of personnel. Miri Eisen, a retired colonel who spent 20 years in the Israeli military, says there are clear limits for women.

"We won't have a female chief of staff. The glass ceiling is there for a variety of reasons," Eisen says. "The military is a boys club. I think every military is a boys club. It's still a majority of men who are going to choose that way of life."

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The U.S. military could also look overseas, to Israel, for an example of how to integrate women into combat roles. The Pentagon decided earlier this year to drop the rule barring women from serving in infantry and artillery units, among others. And this week, the military services submitted initial plans for how to implement this big shift.

In Israel, military service is required for both sexes, but women still had to fight for the right to serve in combat. NPR's Larry Abramson has that story.

LARRY ABRAMSON, BYLINE: In Israel, the military does more than just defend the country. The Israel Defense Forces also serve as a melting pot where immigrants and minority groups all experience the same rite of passage. That's what struck Leora Prince when she visited Israel after high school. Lots of young people joined in a common purpose.

SERGEANT LEORA PRINCE: That were completely, selflessly guarding over the country, and I wanted to be a part of that.

ABRAMSON: That explains why this New Jersey native is serving in the Israel Defense Forces today. She immigrated, learned Hebrew and put on a uniform. But it doesn't explain why Sergeant Prince is riding in an SUV along Israel's desert border with Egypt, cradling a Tavor assault rifle in her arms. Leora Prince started out learning how to be an instructor, but she wanted to do something truly hands-on.

PRINCE: When I was in basic training for the month, I realized that this isn't enough for me. I wanted to do more, do the guarding, not just teach people how to guard. So I switched to Caracal, and it was the best decision I've ever made.

ABRAMSON: The Caracal was formed in 2004 with the chief purpose of giving women a chance to serve in true combat roles. It's a coed combat battalion, named for a desert cat whose gender can be difficult to discern. Sixty percent female, the Caracal patrols Israel's border with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. It's a desolate stretch of high desert that's become a hot spot in recent years. In 2011, eight Israelis died in a terror attack launched from Sinai.

PRINCE: The fence is going to be right here, right on the border.

ABRAMSON: The border is dangerous enough that Israel has decided to build an expensive border fence through this punishing terrain. A big part of this battalion's job is guarding the construction crews building that fence. Soldiers like Prince put up with clouds of dust, wicked heat and long shifts.

Prince says women don't have to carry quite as much gear as the men, but otherwise they're treated just the same - in theory, anyway. Prince says that in Israel's battle-hardened, male-dominated military, she still gets plenty of razzing.

PRINCE: The way that the rest of the army views us, a lot of times there's a lot of jokes that are being made about Caracal. But the people that see us, the people that see us work, they're the ones that realize how serious we are and how much we do.

ABRAMSON: You don't sign up for work like this if you're put off by teasing. Within the Caracal, Leora Prince says, she is taken seriously, and she looks completely at ease as she chats with her male counterparts. As the U.S. moves towards a more integrated force, some have questioned whether men will trust female soldiers with their lives. Leora Prince's commander is Captain Yaron Eyal, and he says he's gotten over any doubts that he had.

CAPTAIN YARON EYAL: I trust them - the same way if we need to shoot somebody behind me - to watch my back.

ABRAMSON: Israel holds out the Caracal as proof that women can be all that they can be in the military. The Israel Defense Forces say that, today, nearly 50 percent of Israel's lieutenants and captains are women.

But the upper echelons are still a male domain. The highest-ranking female officer is a major general who's in charge of personnel. Miri Eisin, a retired colonel who spent 20 years in the Israeli military, says there are clear limits for women.

MIRI EISIN: We won't have a female chief of staff. The glass ceiling is there for a variety of reasons. The IDF is a boys club. I think every military is a boys club. It's still a majority of men who are going to choose that way of life.

ABRAMSON: Of course the U.S. military has a different role than that of Israel or really any country in the world. An expeditionary force that must be ready to go anywhere, anytime, will have different needs than a mostly defensive force like Israel's. Larry Abramson, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.